Maybe You're My Love
by Komaki Nakao
Summary: Kia Yatzatoki's life long dream of visiting Japan is finally coming true. Too bad life at Ouran Academy is nothing like what she was expecting.
1. The First One

"I'm thinking of getting my tongue pierced," my friend Heather told us as we sat down at our usual lunch table. Heather, as a rule, only wore dark-colored clothing, and today was no exception. The chains on her baggy black pants clattered against the plastic cafeteria chair as she took her seat. Since middle school, she had been dying her hair her signature shade of pale orange, earning her the nickname _Peach_.

"The ones in your ears not cutting it, eh?" I said, sitting down across from her. I looked at the warm, freshly-prepared school lunch in front of her and felt envious. My grandmother always insisted on packing me a bento box of leftovers every morning.

"Wouldn't that hurt?" Marcie asked, her face growing pale at the very thought of a needle going through her tongue.

"Oh, it'll hurt like a bitch," Kyle said, sounding quite sure of himself. I still hadn't grown used to seeing him with short hair; he had shaved off his shoulder-length locks for a local play, and it hadn't quite grown back yet.

Marcie sighed, "I don't know why you would want to do something like that."

"Uh, it looks cool, duh," Peach said, showing off a mouth full of food.

At last, I gathered up a bit of courage and opened the bento box, a little bit relieved when I found soggy chicken nuggets and some stale rice. One day, Grandma had combined curry and my dad's tuna surprise, and the cafeteria had to be evacuated. I had been weary of my bento boxes ever since.

I sighed with relief, "Thank goodness…"

A loud _beep_ erupted from the loudspeaker, telling everyone in the lunchroom that an announcement was about to be made. The noisy cafeteria quieted instantly, listening to the familiar voice of the office secretary:

"_Kia Yat… Yatza… You know who you are. Please report to the main office. What's-your-name, to the front office._"

_Kia Yatzatoki_, I thought while the rest of the cafeteria "ohhhh"ed at my apparent condemnation. _I've been going to this school for more than a year now. You think they'd learn how to say my name._

"Mmmmm, you're in trouble," Kyle sang.

"Don't tease her," Marcie scolded. "What if she really _is_ in trouble?"

Peach snickered, "What'd you to get sent to the office, Kia?"

"I have no idea," I answered honestly. "I've actually been on my best behavior lately..."

"You should go," Marcie said, toying with her long brown hair. She always did that when she was worried. "If you lollygag, you could get in more trouble."

"Jeez Marcie, she isn't getting expelled or something," Peach said, rubbing the other girl's back gently. She looked back up at me, "You're not getting expelled, are you?"

"There's only one way to find out," I sighed, sliding off of my chair and waltzing over to the office. The principle was waiting for me when I got there, looking quite agitated.

"You, come with me," he said. His words were quick and choppy, and he didn't look back to make sure I was following him as he marched off to his office. From behind, it was _very_ obvious his new thick mop of hair was a toupee.

_Possible scenario one – Principle Foghorn has been replaced with a cyborg_, I thought, fighting back the urge to laugh as I entered his office. As he took his place behind his desk, I noticed the third person in the office with us. She was tall and thin, with faded blond hair pulled up into a tight bun.

"Please, sit," Principle Foghorn said, pointing to the remaining chair. I obeyed, not taking my eyes off of this new woman.

"Miss Ya-… er, Kia," he said. "This is Mrs. Silfverberg."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, with a very thick Swedish accent. I wondered briefly how he could pronounce _that_ beast of a last name, yet mine remained unfeasible.

"Mrs. Silfverberg is from the International Exchange Program," Principle Foghorn explained. "It seems you applied to take part in her program."

I nodded, "Yes, I did."

"When you applied, you had to take a language proficiency exam," he said.

I nodded again, "Yes, I did."

"You scored unbelievably high," Silfverberg said, looking completely elated. "You're the only one we tested from this area who qualified to take part in the program."

My heart jumped, "You mean, I get to go to Japan?"

"Not so fast," Principle Foghorn said sternly. "I'm curious, Kia, how you managed to pass a Japanese proficiency test…"

"Uh, I _am_ Japanese," I said, failing to mask my frustration. "And my mother teaches Japanese at the community college; I've been bilingual my entire life. Why is it so hard to believe that I could pass a language proficiency test?"

"Well," he said, opening a manila folder on his desk. "It's just that your grades aren't very impressive; other than music and theater, they're rather dismal."

My face flushed with embarrassment. I mean, I knew I wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, and that I didn't put a lot of effort into school. But was that _really_ going to wreck my chance to visit Japan? Sure, I could always go on my own, but this program was all-expenses paid; the students who were selected to take part were all sponsored by families in their respective host countries.

"Kia," Mrs. Silfverberg said, placing her cold hand over mine. "No one is trying to insult your intelligence-"

"Consider my intelligence insulted," I grumbled.

"But Mr. Foghorn's concerns _are_ valid," she said. "Ouran Academy is one of the most prestigious schools in the country. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into before you committed to anything. The school year is set up differently in Japan; they've already started their second term for the school year, so you'll be behind-"

"I want to commit," I said quickly. "I _really_ want to do this. My grandma talks about Japan all the time; I've wanted to go there my whole life…"

She smiled at me, "Alright, if you're sure. You still have some time to think it over; perhaps you should consult your parents-"

"My mom was the one who first told me about the program," I said. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

_And if I did turn down the opportunity, I'm sure Dad would be pissed that the two hundred dollar application fee went to waste,_ I thought, but I decided to keep that little bit to myself.

She nodded, "Congratulations, dear; the paperwork is already in the mail. As soon as your parents sign the forms, we'll get your plane tickets lined up and-"

"Whooo!" I cheered, unable to contain my enthusiasm as I jumped out of my chair, punching the air. I almost forgot to say thank you to Mrs. Silfverberg and the principle before I ran out of the office, eager to tell my friends the news.

When I returned to the table, two new people had joined us – one of them in my chair. Shin-Li, an adorable girl of mixed oriental origins was helping herself to my bento box. Her black hair was cut short at the top and long on the sides, with random streaks of pink and bright blue thrown in here and there.

I was much more surprised to see the second newcomer. As a senior, David was only taking the minimum number of credits needed to graduate, and therefore only had to attend school for half of the day (that is, when he bothered showing up at all). In fact, he mentioned to us several times, he was only finishing high school so he could take part in the spring musical.

That was his passion; music. Though I could play more instruments than he could, I could never hope to match his talent. He was already a popular act at several local venues; everyone knew that if anyone could make it as a musician, it was David.

The fact that he was completely gorgeous didn't hurt, either. His brown hair was always perfectly disheveled, his face scruffy, and his tight pants _just_ tight enough. Today he wore a bright neon scarf that I knew would look ridiculous on anyone else, but somehow he pulled it off.

I had been fully prepared to jump and squeal as I told my friends the news, but seeing David had caught me off guard. So instead, I sat down at the table wordlessly.

"Yeah, tongue piercings hurt like a bitch," Shin-Li was telling Peach. "Remember when I tried to do mine, and then it got all infected? Bleeh, nasty! You should do your lips. My snakebites didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought they would."

"But _you_ already did that," Peach sighed. "I wanna do something different, ya know?"

"Kia, are you alright?" Marcie asked me.

"I heard you got called to the office," Shin-Li said, eating another one of my chicken nuggets.

"Give me that," I hissed, snatching back my bento box.

"So, what's the verdict?" David asked. "Are they gonna take you away in cuffs?"

I laughed nervously, "Not exactly…"

"Kia," Peach gasped, her motherly-instincts kicking in. "What happened in there?"

I grinned, "I'm going to Japan!"

"You're _what_?" Kyle said.

"I'm going to Japan!" I exclaimed again, this time so loud that the entire lunch room heard.

"Hey, that's pretty rad," David said. "That's where your grandma's from, right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, she immigrated to the United States in the 1930s."

"So like, how long are you going to be there?" Shin-Li asked, reaching for another nugget. Peach swatted her hand away for me.

"For the rest of the school year, I suppose," I said. "The school year runs differently in Japan, so I'm not sure exactly. When I applied for the program, I said I wanted to do the full year, so-"

"So you're going to be leaving soon, then?" Marcie asked. She sounded as though she was on the verge of tears.

"Yeah…" I gulped. "I guess so…"

The rest of the day was a long string of congratulations and pats on the back. Everyone in the theater program seemed upset to see me go; they all seemed to think that I would be the best choice for the female lead in the upcoming play. On the other hand, my chemistry teacher had to go out into the hallway when I told him the news, so the class wouldn't hear his cries of joy.

"I'm sure he was just happy for you, Kia," Marcie assured me as Peach drove us home in her beat up station wagon. "Yeah, that must be it."

"Marcie, its fine," I said, not looking up from my magazine. "After all the lab equipment I've already broken this year, I can't exactly blame him for being happy to see me go."

"Well, here's your stop," Peach announced, pulling into my driveway. "Unless you want to invite us in or something."

"Whooo, we're hanging out at Kia's!" Shin-Li cheered, running up to the front door before I could say anything.

I sighed, "I guess we're hanging out at my place…"

"That's a good girl," Peach teased, ruffling my hair before she got out of the car.

_Obaba-san isn't going to like this,_ I thought, following my friends up to the front door, where there was a huge envelope carelessly stuffed into the mail slot. I pulled it out and read the address; it was for me, from the International Exchange Program.

"Wow, that was fast," I said.

"What's in it?" Marcie asked, peering over my shoulder.

"It's all the paperwork I have to fill out to be an exchange student," I explained. "Information about my host family should be in here, too."

"Hahaha, found it," Shin-Li said, holding up the spare key.

I frowned, "How'd you know where it was? My parents won't even tell _me_ where they hid it."

"It was easy," she said, unlocking the front door. "There was a secret compartment in the Buddha's tummy."

I looked down at the tiny statue, "I knew it was you the whole time, you stupid jerk; why don't you just take the middle way right out'a my life, huh?"

Peach laughed, draping her arm over my shoulder, "Come on, let's get inside and open that fancy envelope. I'm curious…"

When we entered the house, the only sound that could be heard was the humming of the fish tank. Until I flipped on the light, the tank was also the only source of light in the room, as well. The house was small, and most of it hadn't been redecorated since the 70s.

"_Who is that up there?"_ my grandmother called from the basement, which we had converted into an apartment for her.

"It's me, Obaba-san!" I called, signaling to my friends to be quiet as I led the way into the kitchen. She didn't like having visitors.

"And us, Obaba-san!" Shin-Li added, completely ignoring me. "We're here too!"

"_Kia, what have I told you about bringing those hood rats into my house?"_

"They won't stay long," I said, grabbing a six pack of root beer out of the fridge. Peach grabbed a box of doughnuts off of the counter while Marcie and Shin-Li rifled through the cabinets until they found some chips. We all squealed and giggled when we heard my grandma start up the stairs, and we hurried up to barricade ourselves in my bedroom.

"I love that old lady," Shin-Li giggled as she settled down on my bed, carefully moving my guitar so she had plenty of room. "It's so funny to hear her curse at us in Japanese."

_Yeah, but you don't have to hear about it later,_ I thought, collapsing onto my beanbag chair. My room was pretty small; with my twin bed, dresser, and vanity/desk, there was hardly enough room for the four of us. For the most part, I managed to cover the nasty rose-covered wallpaper with posters, doodles, and photographs.

I tore open the envelope, accepting a can of root beer when Peach handed it to. I couldn't help but groan when I realized just how much paperwork I had to do.

"That looks like loads of fun," Shin-Li said, shoving a doughnut in her mouth as she booted up my apple-red lap top.

"Don't get that all sticky," I scolded, knowing that it wouldn't do any good.

"So, is there anything in there about your new, Asian family?" Peach asked curiously.

"The family I have is already Asian," I reminded her as I flipped through the pages, trying my best to keep them in order. At last, I found a clue.

"It says my sponsor's name is Yoshio," I read. "Yoshio Ootori."

"I'm on it!" Shin-Li announced, and then began typing furiously.

"On what?" I asked.

"Creeping, of course," she said. "I want to know everything about this fellow before we send you over there."

"It says he owns a bunch of hospitals or something," I said as I read further.

"Looks like the family's pretty well off," Shin-Li concurred. "This Yoshio dude owns Ootori Medical, and like, a bazillion other things. Oh hey, a family photo; wanna see?"

"How are you finding all this?" Marcie asked. She was sitting quietly on the floor, letting Peach comb and braid her long, cinnamon-brown hair. That hair was always the center of attention at our girly sleepovers.

"You'd be surprised what you can find out about folks online," said Peach.

"Show me the picture," I said, scooting closer to the bed so I could see. The family photo looked very… _proper_. Everyone was dressed in matching suits, the only female in a beautiful gown. They all had the same black hair and dark grey eyes.

"The one with the glasses is about our age," Shin-Li told me. "The rest of the kids are older; like, in their twenties or something."

_I wonder why their mother isn't in this picture,_ I thought absently.

"They look nice enough," said Marcie. "The younger one is sort of… handsome…"

"Awww," Shin-Li squealed. "Marcie is in love!"

"I am n-not!" she stammered, blushing furiously. "I j-just said he wasn't bad looking! Why do you always twist everything I say?"

"They look very well-bred," Peach said, in a very British accent. "I must say, I approve."

"Man, this is so not fair," Shin-Li grumbled. "Kia gets to run off and live with a bunch of rich people, and I'm still stuck here."

"Gee, whatever will you do," I said dryly. "Peach, can you toss me a pen? I want to get started on all this paperwork…"

The next few weeks went by quickly. Before I knew it, I was hugging and kissing everyone I knew goodbye and boarding my plane. To save money, my parents were sending most of my things over in boxes later on, so I only took a week's worth of clothes and a couple necessities with me.

I was too excited to sleep during the twelve-hour flight, and the in flight movies were hardly entertaining enough to keep my mind occupied. I had filled up half a notebook with song lyrics and little doodles by the time we landed. I followed the rest of the passengers to claim my luggage… and was unable to resist the urge to sit on the contraption with my suitcase and ride around in circles, waving at everyone who chose to stare at me.

"Yatzatoki-san, I presume?"

Despite the fact that the voice was deep and calm, I still yelped with surprise, tumbling off of the conveyor belt and onto the ground.

"The one and only…" I grumbled, staring at the very expensive-looking pair of shoes in front of me. As I sat up, my eyes traveled up, examining the person in front of me. He was tall and slender, wearing a freshly ironed pair of slacks and a button-up shirt. His black hair was neatly combed, and his dark grey eyes were shielded by a pair of rimless glasses.

I recognized him immediately as the youngest Ootori boy from the photograph, though I could not recall his name.

"That must have hurt," he said, smiling kindly as he offered me his hand. "Are you alright?"

Graciously, I grabbed it, thankful for the help as I stood, "I'm fine. I've had worse falls than that."

"At any rate, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, his smile not fading for a second. "My name is Kyoya Ootori. I realize that my father was supposed to come greet you in person, but unfortunately he will be out of town for the next few weeks on some impromptu business. I hope you're not too disappointed."

"It's cool," I shrugged. "He's the owner of Ootori Medical, right? He must be really busy."

"Yes, that's right," Kyoya said, looking a bit surprised. "How did you know that?"

"I, er, I did a little bit of creeping," I confessed. "When I got all of my information in the mail, I googled your family to see what you were like."

"Ah, I see," Kyoya said, grabbing my suitcase. "Do you have any other luggage, Yatzatoki-san?"

"Nope," I said. "I just brought a few things; my parents are shipping the rest of my junk over in boxes."

He nodded, "Well, let's get going, shall we?"

"Uh, sure," I said. "Unless you wanna give the luggage wheel a try. It's a blast."

Kyoya looked at me quizzically, "No thank you."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged, letting Kyoya lead the way out of the airport (seeing as I had no idea where I was going). "I can carry my own bag. You don't have to do it for me."

"I was instructed to be a perfect gentleman, Yatzatoki-san," he said, holding the door open for me. "And that is what I intend to do."

"Wow…" I said, not really sure what to think of that. The setting sun outside was almost blinding, so I grabbed my knockoff Ray Bans out of my jacket pocket and slipped them on. "I didn't think people were like that anymore."

"They aren't."

I yawned, "Oh…"

"Are you tired, Yatzatoki-san?"

"Please," I said exasperatedly. "I don't really like formalities, and we _are_ going to be living together, right? You can just call me by my first name, Ootori-kun."

"Fair enough," he said. "In that case, you may call me Kyoya, if you wish. That's our car over there, the red one."

I only had to scan the parking lot for a few seconds before I spotted it; a beautiful red convertible. The man behind the wheel waved when he spotted us.

"Do you like it?" Kyoya asked. "I know that red is your favorite color…"

"That. Is. The coolest car. I have ever seen." I said, fighting off the urge to squeal. I really wanted to take out my phone and take a picture of it, but it was still in the bag Kyoya was carrying for me. "Wait, how did you know my favorite color?"

"You're not the only one who does their research," he said, putting my suitcase in the trunk. "I especially enjoyed those videos on your facebook page."

I gulped, "Hehe, which ones did you watch?"

"I watched all of them," he said, still smiling. "The ones from the circus were particularly amusing; I thought only children were afraid of clowns…"

"Well…" I trailed off, feeling my face burn with embarrassment. I'd told Kyle to take those offline a long time ago. "I call shotgun!"

Kyoya watched me climb into the passenger's seat, looking quite amused as he sat down in the back, ordering the driver to take us home. There were more buttons and knobs in that car than I had ever seen before, and that was more than enough to keep me occupied for the short trip.

I was a bit disappointed when I saw the house – or the estate, rather. When I signed up to be an exchange student, I was expecting a more… _traditional_ experience. The house was huge, and very modern; _western_. I knew right away that I would end up getting lost inside it. The rest of the houses in the neighborhood were big, but the Ootori estate trumped them all.

_I wonder of Ootori-sama is trying to compensate for something, _I thought, whistling as I stepped out of the car, "Golly, do you think it'll be big enough?"

"There's plenty of room," Kyoya said, removing my suitcase from the trunk. "I assure you."

"I was being sarcastic," I giggled. "This is at least twice the size of my house… Probably more like five times the size of my house."

"I'll show you your room," Kyoya said, leading the way up the stairs to the front doors, which were opened by two nearly identical butlers as he approached.

If it was even possible, the inside of the estate was even more elegant than the outside. Everything was freshly polished and new, as if it had been purchased hours before my arrival. My new room was no exception. The walls were a brilliant hue of lavender, and after my long flight, the fluffy matching comfort looked to inviting to resist.

"You should get some rest," Kyoya suggested. "You start school first thing tomorrow."

I groaned, "For real? I don't get a couple days off to enjoy myself first?"

"I'll see you in the morning," Kyoya snickered, closing the door behind him as he left.

I took a deep breath, standing in the middle of the room. I turned around slowly, taking in every detail. I felt like a guest; like I wasn't in my own room. This was far from the tiny box I occupied back home. On the contrary, this room alone was probably bigger than my house, especially if you included the luxurious bathroom I found connected to it.

I collapsed onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling. It felt odd, not seeing glow in the dark stars plastered across the ceiling in _my_ room.

"I suppose I'll have to get used to it…" I sighed before I drifted off to sleep.


	2. The One Where Kia Plays With Her Food

"Yatzatoki-san!" I heard a cheerful voice ring in my ear. "Yatzatoki-san! Wake up!"

"Uhh… waaah…" I mumbled, sitting up in bed. I found myself face-to-face with a beautiful redhead in a maid's uniform. She looked_ way _to happy, considering the clock on the wall read 7:00 am.

"Good morning, Yatzatoki-san!" she said happily. "I'm going to be your personal maid during your stay here!

I rubbed my eyes, "Please, just call me Kia… I can't take this Yatzatoki-san stuff this early in the morning."

"Alright…" she said, her smile growing. "Kia-san it is, then. Would you like me to bring you breakfast in bed, or would you like to go down to the dining room?"

"I guess I'll just go down to the dining room," I said, stretching my arms out before I slid out of bed. I paused, suddenly realizing that I wasn't exactly sure _where_ the dining room was. The only part of the Ootori estate that I had seen so far was the rout from the front door to my bedroom.

The maid giggled, "I'll take you down, Kia-san. Kyoya-sama is already waiting for you."

I tried to memorize the path from my bedroom to the dining room, but I didn't think I'd be able to do it on the first try. Somehow, the estate was even bigger on the inside; I was nearly out of breath by the time we reached the dining room. The table was huge, long enough to accommodate a large number of guests, I imagined. Kyoya was sitting in a chair close to the head of the table, wearing a pair of black dress pants and a pale purple jacket. He poked at a plate of scrambled eggs with a dazed look on his face, like he wasn't quite awake yet.

"Not a morning person, I take it?" I said as I sat down across from him.

"I could say the same about you," he said, glancing up at me. "You're still in your pajamas."

"Oh, yeah…" I said, looking down at my ducky PJs, unable to keep myself from feeling a little embarrassed. "Maybe I should have changed first, huh?"

"That may have been a little counterproductive, Kia-san," the redhead told me. "Your uniform is still being ironed, after all."

I blinked, "Uniform?"

"For school," Kyoya said. "Didn't you have to wear one back home?"

I shook my head, "Nope. I went to public school in America, so I never had to wear one. Usually only private schools make students wear uniforms."

"Huh," Kyoya shrugged. "I guess I never considered that; it's an interesting concept, I suppose. At any rate, would you like some breakfast?"

"Oh, no thank you," I said, resting my chin on the table. "I've never been a big breakfast eater."

"You should eat something," he said. Even though he was smiling, I felt like I was being scolded. "At least have some orange juice."

"The orange juice is absolutely divine, Kia-san!" my maid assured me. "It's freshly squeezed every morning."

"I guess I'll try some-" I said, just as the maid was placing a crystal glass full of orange juice in front of me.

"Er, thanks, Ginger," I said, sipping at the drink.

"G-ginger?" she said, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, sorry," I said, almost choking on my juice. "You just never told me your name, and-"

"You gave me a pet name!" she squealed, throwing her arms around me in a crushing hug. "Oh, Kia-san! That's so sweet!"

"Um… no prob…" I said.

"Perhaps you should get Kia her uniform," Kyoya suggested, finishing off his morning coffee. It must have been helping; already he seemed more vibrant.

"Oh, of course!" Ginger said, darting out of the room.

"She seems… nice," I said.

"She was my older sister's favorite maid, before she moved out," Kyoya explained. "I thought you two would get along. If she's not to your liking, I'm sure we can make other arrangements."

"No!" I said quickly. "She's fantastic, really! I just wasn't expecting a maid to begin with, that's all! I've never been waited on before; I'm used to doing things on my own."

"Kia, you're a guest here," he said. "You can expect to be treated as such."

_When I signed up for the foreign exchange program, this was the last thing I was expecting,_ I thought, finishing my orange juice as I took in Kyoya's words. _I was expecting a tiny apartment where I'd have to sleep on the floor, and eat rice with chopsticks. If I had known it was going to be like this, I might not have signed up to begin with…_

_But it seems like Kyoya is doing everything he can to make me feel at home,_ I told myself. _It would be rude to tell him all that. Besides, being waited on might not be so bad…_

"Kia-san, here is your uniform," Ginger informs me, holding out the garment. "You should go upstairs and change right away; I can't wait to see how you look in it!"

In my head, I had been picturing one of those dorky sailor dresses from one of Peach's anime shows. However, the thing in front of me somehow seemed a million times worse. The frilly yellow dress in front of me nearly caused me to have a heart attack.

"That… is the ugliest effin' dress… I have ever seen…" I stammered, clutching my heart.

Kyoya chuckled, "Not exactly your style, is it?"

"No," I said, shaking my head furiously. "Not in the slightest."

"Nevertheless, you're required to wear it," he said, rising from his chair. The sunlight created a glare across his glasses, hiding his dark eyes. He looked positively evil – frightening enough that I went off to change without another word.

"Maybe he isn't really as nice as I thought…" I said, still a bit shaken. Ginger had offered to help me change, but I decided that was taking things a little too far, and opted to dress myself. "He looked so evil just now…"

It was almost painful, putting on that awful, yellow monstrosity. It was nowhere near flattering; I felt as though my hips appeared twice as large as they normally did. I dug through my suitcase and managed to find a pair of pink and white plaid ribbons, which I used to tie my hair into my signature pigtails. I had to use a hair straightener to get my side fringe to lay properly. I thought that my chipped black nail polish might not be appropriate, but I knew that I didn't have time to remove it. I grabbed my button-covered messenger bag, and was somehow able to locate the entryway, where Kyoya was waiting for me.

He smiled, "Why the long face?"

"This dress is _awful_," I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Is it really so bad?" he asked, looking a little confused. "It looks fine to me. Granted, yellow isn't exactly my favorite color…"

"It's really easy for you to talk like that," I said, following him outside, where the familiar red car was waiting for us. "You don't actually have to _wear_ the damn thing."

Kyoya laughed at this notion, sliding gracefully into the front seat while I returned to my familiar place in the front of the car. I stuck my tongue out at him through the rearview mirror. The ride to school was quiet; Kyoya stared listlessly out the window while I put on my oversized headphones.

"You shouldn't have that turned up so loud," Kyoya told me as I exited the car, nearly tripping over my dress. "You'll lose your hearing that way."

"What?" I said, a little louder than was actually necessary. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

He rolled his eyes, "I was just trying to look out for you. What was that you were listening to, anyway?"

"They're called Neutral Milk Hotel," I said, draping my bag over my shoulder. "Why, did you like it?"

"From what I could make out, no," he said, adjusting his glasses. "It just sounded like a bunch of noise."

"Neutral Milk Hotel is _not_ noise!" I said furiously, fighting off the urge to punch him in the arm. I took a deep breath, calming myself down a little. "I can see you have much to learn, Kyoya-kun. Do not fret; I'll do my best to fix you."

"At any rate," he said, politeness unfazed. "Please, allow me to show you to your classroom; I'm afraid you'd get lost by yourself."

My gut instinct was to come up with a sarcastic comeback, but the second I looked at the school, I knew Kyoya was right. The school grounds were about as big as my entire neighborhood; each building was the size of my high school. Everything looked so large and grand that I couldn't help stopping to stare several times. I think Kyoya started getting frustrated with me by the time we finally reached my classroom.

The room was filled with people – all of whom were dressed in school uniforms identical to Kyoya's and mine – chatting or finishing up some last-second homework. Unintimidated, and seemingly oblivious to all the attention he was attracting, Kyoya strolled right in, and I had no choice but to follow.

"_Who is that girl with Kyoya-sempai?"_ one girl whispered to another. "_Do you think she's his girlfriend or something?"_

"_She's kinda cute,"_ someone else whispered. _"I wonder if she'd consider going out with me…"_

"_Not in a million years; not if she's with Ootori-sempai, anyway._"

"_Those ribbons in her hair are, like, adorable!_"

"Hikaru, Kaoru, Haruhi," Kyoya said, approaching a trio sitting in the back of the room. Two of the boys were obviously twins; they had identical golden eyes and pale orange hair, and were completely absorbed in identical handheld games. The third – another boy, with brown hair and large brown eyes – was looking over what appeared to be math notes. All three of them instantly averted their attention the second Kyoya spoke to them.

"Kyoya-sempai," the brunette said, looking a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I need you to do me a favor," he said. "This is Kia Yatzatoki, the exchange student my father's company is sponsoring. Since she's been assigned to your class, I was hoping you could take care of her for me."

I grumbled, "What am I, a toddler?"

Kyoya eyed me curiously, "Hmm? Would you rather be left to fend for yourself?"

"Don't worry about it, sempai," one of the twins said, smirking. I shivered.

"We'll watch over her for you," the other said, looking just as evil.

"Go easy on her," Kyoya said, smiling back at them, as if they _weren't_ the most sinister thing he had ever seen. "I'll see the four of you later."

_No, wait!_ I nearly called out, and I found myself taking an involuntary step after Kyoya before I caught myself. I sighed, _Well, here it goes…_

"Don't take Kyoya-sempai's comment to seriously, Yatzatoki-san," the brunette said. "Hikaru and Kaoru aren't _that_ bad… most of the time."

_So the twins are Hikaru and Kaoru_, I thought, making a mental note. _So that makes this guy Haruhi._

"Well, it's nice to meet all of you," I said, settling into a nearby desk.

"Likewise," the twins said together.

Before those creepy twins could scare me too much, the teacher showed up. After he introduced himself to me – and made me introduce myself to the rest of the class – my first school day officially began. The first subject of the day was math, which was difficult enough in English; learning it in my second language was almost impossible.

I was thankful when the bell rang, and to my surprise, none of the students got up to leave. Instead, the math teacher bid us farewell, and was soon replaced by a science teacher.

_Oh, that's right,_ I thought. _I read in the Ouran brochure that specialization doesn't start until your second year; all first years take the same classes and stay in the same room_.

Science was a little bit easier to focus on than mathematics, but I was thankful when I discovered the next class would be English. Confident in my ability to blend into the background – as I had done for most of my educational career – I doodled until lunch.

"What's a carrot flower?" one of the twins – Kaoru, maybe? – asked, peering over my shoulder to stare at my doodle.

"What?"

"Right there," he said, pointing. "You wrote _King of Carrot Flowers_."

"Oh," I said, closing my notebook. "It's a song I like; I was listening to it on the drive here."

"You like music?" the twins asked together.

"Yeah, I like music," I said, knowing that it was probably the biggest understatement I had ever made.

"You're going to eat in the cafeteria, right Yatzatoki-san?" Haruhi asked. "Come on, we can show you where it is."

I nodded, following the three of them through a somewhat busy hallway. The lunchroom was beyond extravagant, and was (like everything else in this new, strange world) probably larger than my house. There were several different options for lunch, most of which I wasn't familiar with. With no junk food in sight, I settled on a plate of dumplings and followed my new friends to their table. We were instantly joined by a large group of girls, most of whom I recognized from our class.

"Um, Yatzatoki-san, you don't mind if we sit with you, do you?" one of them asked.

I swallowed my first dumpling. It was good, but nothing could beat Obaba-san's. "Um, sure, I guess…"

Her eyes lit up, "We've all been looking forward to talking to you, Yatzatoki-san! We want you to feel welcome in our class."

"If that's the case, could you please just call me Kia?" I asked. "All this Yatzatoki-san stuff is starting to make me uncomfortable."

"Ohh, alright!" the girl said. "In that case, you may call me Momoka-chan!"

"Momoka is our class's vice president," Haruhi elaborated. I noticed that, unlike everyone else, Haruhi had brought a boxed lunch instead of eating the cafeteria food. For a second, I almost missed my grandmother's crappy bento boxes. Almost.

"Kia-chan," another girl said. "You're from America, right?"

"Yup," I said, my voice muddled by the food in my mouth. "I live in New York."

There was a loud, collective gasp amongst the group. When I looked up, I found that it had grown quite a bit. Several extra chairs had been pulled up, and many people were standing while they ate.

_Am I really that big of a deal…?_

"Oh, that's so neat!" Momoka said, in awe. "I went there once, with my father on a business trip. It's such a busy place!"

"I don't see how people can live in a place like that," another girl said. "It's kind of dirty, isn't it?"

"Don't be rude, Izumi!"

"So, do you live near Rockefeller Plaza?" one of the boys asked.

I laughed nervously, "Um, I think you guys are getting the wrong idea. I'm from Staten Island."

"But I thought you said you were from New York City," the twin to my left said.

"Staten Island _is_ in New York…" I said. "It's like, oh, how can I explain this…" I trailed off, glancing down at my lunch. "Oh, I've got it! Hang on."

The crowd watched me curiously as I worked, arranging my dumplings on my plate. I molded and nibbled some of them, attempting to make my map to scale.

"Okay," I said when I was finished. "New York City is broken up into five boroughs. See this dumpling here?" I asked, pointing with my chopsticks. "This one is Manhattan. When most people think of New York, they're really thinking of Manhattan."

"Ohhhhh."

"And this kinda fat-ish one up above Manhattan is the Bronx," I continued. "There's a lot of off-Broadway shows there, and a really sweet zoo.

"The biggest borough is Queens," I said, pointing to the Queens-dumpling. "That's where I got on my plane to come here, but it's mostly residential stuff. Then next to Queens is Brooklyn; a lot of immigrants settled there, so it's sort of a cultural hodgepodge.

"And this," I said, pointing to the last dumpling. "Is Staten Island. It's mostly suburban, but the St. George Theatre is pretty legit, I guess. And if you're with the right people, anything can be fun, right?"

"Didn't your parents teach you not to play with your food?" a snide, familiar voice asked from behind.

I shrieked, "K-kyoya!"

"What are you doing here, sempai?" Haruhi asked.

"Just checking in," he said pleasantly. "But everything seems to be going well."

"Kia-chan was just telling us about New York City," Momoka informed him cheerfully. "She's been very informative."

"Looks like you're not the favorite anymore," the twin next to Haruhi snickered, immediately earning himself an elbow to the ribs.

"Oh, Kyoya-sempai!" Momoka said, a thought suddenly striking her brain. "Will Kia-chan be joining us at the Host Club after school?"

"Well, I had originally arranged for a car to pick her up after class," Kyoya said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "But I suppose it would be more convenient for my driver if she were to stay…"

"Oh, please come, Kia-san!" one of the girls begged, as if her life depended on it. "You'll have so much fun!"

"Uh… sure," I said, not having the slightest clue about what I was getting myself into. "I don't see why not…"


	3. The One Where They Eat Cake

I didn't get any hints about this mysterious "Host Club" for the rest of the day. I tried to ask Haruhi, Hikaru, and Kaoru about it, but the twins seemed keen on keeping the true nature of their club a surprise. By the time the final bell rang, all I knew was that the club's member list consisted of the creeper twins, Haruhi, Kyoya, and a couple of other mystery men from other classes. When I got up to leave, the twins grabbed me by the arms to "escort" me, claiming I would escape somehow if they didn't.

"I'm not going to run away," I insisted, giving up on physically freeing myself. "Where would I go?"

"You'd figure something out," Hikaru insisted. "You're from New York."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"You've got street smarts," said Kaoru. "You could probably kill a man with your thumb. We've seen that _Law and Order _show."

"We know the kinds of things you guys are capable of," Hikaru added.

I rolled my eyes, "You're being ridiculous."

Haruhi snorted, "Believe me, it's just getting started…"

It took us a while to arrive at our destination – which, of course, was at the other end of the huge building and up two flights of stairs. The sign above the door read _Third Floor Music Room_.

I smiled, "So, it's some kind of music club?" I hoped that was the case; I'd fit right in.

"No," the twins answered simply, pushing the door open for me.

My curiosity peaked as I stepped inside, and I jumped a little when another boy appeared beside me. He was tall, with gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes – no, they were more purple than blue, and they glimmered as he handed me a long-stemmed rose.

"Hello, princess," he said, smiling at me. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

I smiled back nervously; it felt so corny, but he was so pretty – the prettiest guy I had ever seen - and I wasn't used to that kind of attention. My heart pounded in my chest, and my brain hummed as I tried to think of a proper response. Something witty, and charming; something that would make a good first impression.

"Oh, that's only Kia," I heard Kyoya say. When I looked, I found him sitting at a nearby table, scribbling something into a notebook. "The exchange student my family is sponsoring this year."

"Yeah, it's only me," I grumbled sarcastically. So much for a witty introduction.

"It doesn't matter if you're only Kia," the blond said, holding his hand over his heart as if he were truly touched. He leaned closer, and looked right into my eyes. His gaze was so intense that it made me feel dizzy. "Even those if humble origins can be beautiful; why, just look at Haruhi."

I looked over at the brunette, noticing that his eyes narrowed at the other's comment. He wasn't… _unattractive_, but he wasn't exactly my type.

"My family sponsored an exchange student once," someone else added. I looked to my left and noticed no one there. Only when I looked down did I notice a considerably shorter student, smiling up at me with big brown eyes. "He was from Germany, and he was really nice!"

"Aww, you're so cute," I couldn't help but say, smiling as I bent down lower, so we were eye-to-eye. "What's your name?"

"Mitsukuni Haninozuka," he said proudly, holding out a pink, stuffed bunny. "And this is Usa-chan; you can hold her, if you like."

"Sure," I said, accepting the plush toy. I was an only child; the only experience I'd had with younger children was with my friends' siblings. I wasn't quite sure how to act around this younger student; censoring myself wasn't exactly something I was very good at.

He gasped, "Ki-chan – oh, can I call you Ki-chan?"

I nodded, "Sure; I've been called worse."

"Ki-chan, you should come eat cake with me," he insisted. "Please?"

"O-okay…" I answered, unable to say no to such a cute face. When I looked to Kyoya for help, he only gave me an encouraging nod, so I followed the little blond boy to his table. There, I found quite the spread; at least a dozen flavors of cakes. Cupcakes, slices of cake, cakes with strawberries on them, pineapple upside-down cake; if you can name it, it was probably there.

"Oh wow…" I said, staring at the deserts. Were we really going to eat all of them? There were so many… And they all looked so delicious! I considered taking a picture on my phone, to send back to the states; Shin-Li would have gotten a kick out of it.

"Ki-chan," Mitsukuni said, tugging on my sleeve. "I want you to meet my friend, Takashi."

"… Hmm? Oh!" I gasped, snapping out of my cake-induced trance. "Sure."

I almost expected another stuffed animal, but instead Mitsukuni waved to another boy, sitting on a plushy pink sofa nearby. When he stood up and walked over to us, I couldn't fathom how I had missed him when I first walked in; he was about as tall as a house.

I gulped, "_That's_ your friend?"

He nodded, "Yup!"

"Hey," Takashi said, his expression unchanging.

"Takashi, this is Ki-chan," the littler boy said. "She's going to be eating cake with us today. Aren't you excited?"

He looked at me for a moment, and then replied with a simple, "Mhm."

_He's the strong silent type, then_, I concluded, sitting down with the two of them, the stuffed rabbit placed in my lap. I felt nine years old again as Mitsukuni cut each of us a large slice of cake, and Takashi poured some tea out of a too-cute porcelain teapot. I couldn't help but notice that they served cake and tea to the empty seats as well.

"Are you expecting more people?" I asked. Maybe this was some kind of party?

Mitsukuni nodded, "The other girls should be here any time now."

"Actually, they've already arrived," Kyoya said, appearing out of nowhere at my side, causing me to jump a bit. "If Kia is going to be joining you today, we'll have to add an extra seat to your table; you're both booked solid today."

"But that's alright, isn't it?" the little boy asked. "Ki-chan is a special guest, right?"

He looked at me, the sunlight coming in from the window casting a glare over his glasses that obscured his eyes. "Yes," he said. "I suppose that's one way of putting it."

Before I could ask them what they were talking about, another seat was added to our table, and four girls were added to our group. They all giggled as they sat down; none of them seemed to mind that we had to squeeze a bit to make everyone fit.

"This isn't so bad," Mitsukuni said, looking quite content between two of the girls.

"Not at all!" one of them, a girl with short blond hair, said.

"As long as we get to spend time with the two of you," another said.

"… What sort of club is this, anyway?" I finally asked, when the confusion got to be too much. "Do you guys just sit around and eat cake all afternoon, or what?"

The girls gasped collectively, and I suddenly regretted asking the question.

"You mean you've never heard of the Host Club?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Do you live in a cave or something?"

"She's new," Takashi explained.

"Ohhhhh," they all said, nodding.

"I take it this club is kind of a big deal around here," I said.

The blond girl nodded, "The Host Club is one of the most popular clubs on campus."

"Everyone knows about it," one of her friends said. "Their fame is even starting to spread to other schools in the area."

"But what _is_ it, exactly?" I asked.

"It's a place for young women to spend time with handsome young men," Kyoya explained to me. Had he been standing there the whole time?

"Hey, that's my line," the handsome blond pouted. "You can't go around stealing other people's lines; that's not right!"

"Um… I'm sorry," I said. "I don't believe I caught your name before…"

"Oh, how rude of me," he said, dramatically kneeling before me. I didn't have a chance to say anything before he grabbed my hand and hissed the back of my knuckles. "I am Tamaki Suoh, king of the Host Club, at your service."

And then they squeed. Every girl in the room literally fangirl-squeed. As if I wasn't embarrassed enough already. Guys didn't just go around kissing your hand… Not anymore, at least. It was very flattering, especially from someone as handsome as Tamaki.

"The pleasure's all mine," I said, hoping I didn't look as spaced-out as I sounded.

He must have been satisfied with my response, because he smiled at me as he stood back up. I had to admit, it was really nice to (finally) get some attention from a boy. Back home, I wasn't exactly Miss Popular with the gents; when you go to school with the same people for your entire life, it's harder for them to forget some of your… ah, "stranger moments".

Like when you scream and run away from the clown at your middle school carnival, after you kick that creepy bastard in the shins. Or when someone spikes the punch at your first high school dance, and you end up vomiting in front of the whole school. People tend to remember stuff like that.

That was when it accrued to me that, here at Ouran, I had a chance to start over. I had been there for one day, and already I was in with what seemed to be the "cool crowd". No one at this school knew anything about me. For all intensive purposes, I still had a blank slate, and it was up to me to decide what would be carved on it in the end. I decided that I was going to make my time at Ouran special; I wasn't going to let any opportunities pass me by.

Kyoya cleared his throat, "Tamaki, you have customers to tend to."

"Oh, of course!" he gasped. "I am so sorry, Kia; the rest of the flowers in my garden require my attention. We will have to talk more later."

And with that, he turned on his heels, and practically danced over to his table, where several more girls were waiting. When I looked around, I found that the rest of the boys had a similar setup. Haruhi's table was also full, and he seemed to be helping one of his customers with homework. Nearby, Kyoya sat on a sofa with a girl on each arm, both of whom seemed really, _really_ interested in whatever it was he was saying. Hikaru and Kaoru were…

Well, Hikaru and Kaoru appeared to be locked in a passionate lover's embrace. I did a double take, but sure enough, that's what they were doing.

"Yeah… I don't really get the whole brotherly-love thing, either," the girl next to me whispered. "But a lot of girls seem to like it."

"That's… interesting," I said, watching the scene play out from afar. One twin – it was impossible to tell which – seemed to be crying, while his brother ran his fingers over his hair and whispered into his ear. All of the girls at their table were going nuts for the display of affection.

"I like Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai much better," she continued.

_Huh? Oh, right! Honey's probably short for Haninozuka, and then Mori is Takashi's nickname,_ I thought. _I guess that makes sense…_

"Hey, wait a second," I said, finally peeling my eyes away from the twincest. That was enough nightmare fuel for one day. "Did you just call Mitsukuni _sempai_?"

She nodded, "Yeah; I'm only a second year student."

"But that would mean… Wait, that's… but he's so little!"

"A lot of people find it hard to believe," Mitsukuni said, shoving a huge bite of cake into his mouth. "But I'm the oldest member of the Host Club; a third year, just like Takashi."

"Wow…" I mumbled, slumping down in my chair. I had always been a fan of the bizarre, but I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. "I guess I'll just have to get used to it," I said, flopping Usa-chan's ears around.

"Ohhh, does that mean you'll be here more often?" one if the girls asked.

I shrugged, "I guess. Kyoya's my lift home, so I don't think I have much of a choice."

"You could always join another club," another girl said, turning up her nose a bit. "If you don't think the Host Club is good enough for you."

"I didn't mean it like that," I said, glaring at her. I'm sure I looked very menacing, in a yellow creampuff dress with a pink stuffed rabbit in my lap. "Just because I don't understand this place yet doesn't mean I don't like it."

Honey grinned at me, "So you'll come eat cake with me again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Takashi informed him.

"Oh… So you'll come eat cake with me again next week?" he asked, only deterred for a few short seconds.

"Sure," I said. "Why not?"

"Yay~" Honey cheered, clapping his hands. "That makes me happy! And it makes Usa-chan happy, too."

I laughed, "Good; I don't know if I could live with myself if she didn't like me."

The blond girl giggled, "You're kind of funny, Kia-chan."

Her friend nodded, "And your ribbons are very cute."

"Uh… thanks," I said, touching my hair self-consciously. I felt as though I should compliment her back, but… well, at a school where everyone wears the same uniform, there isn't a lot to say about a person's appearance. Thankfully, Mitsukuni jumped in and saved me.

"You all look really pretty today," he said.

"Awwwwwww," the ladies cooed.

"Thank you so much Honey-sempai!"

"You look super cute, too!"

"Yeah! As adorable as ever!"

We passed the rest of the afternoon that way. The girls were rotated every half hour or so – apparently they had to sign up for "appointments" with their preferred host – but I remained at Honey and Mori's table, with Usa-chan in my lap. For the most part, I was quiet; I introduced myself to each new group of girls and answered any questions they asked me. They seemed more interested in the boys, though, but I didn't mind. It was a relaxing way to wind down after a hard day of classes.

At about five thirty, Kyoya informed everyone that the club was closing. After a collective whine from the girls (as well as Tamaki), all of the customers filed out.

"Well," Tamaki said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and flashing me another one of those dazzling smiles. "What do you think of my beautiful world, princess?"

"It's… cool," I said. "But could you knock it off with the princess-business?"

He looked confused, "Don't all girls dream of being a princess?"

"Of course they don't," Haruhi answered.

"Oh…" Tamaki said, suddenly looking quite depressed. I was afraid he would burst into tears at any moment. "I see…"

I gulped, "H-hey, don't get all upset about it. I guess you can call me whatever you want."

"No," he said dramatically. "I could never call you by a name that you despise!"

"I don't _despise_ it," I said. "I just… I donno, I like being _Kia_, that's all. Fancy nicknames and formalities make me uncomfortable."

"Then so be it," Tamaki said, standing up suddenly. "From this moment on, I shall call you Kia-chan, and you shall address me as Tamaki-sempai."

I laughed, "I can live with that."

"Now that we have that matter straightened out," Kyoya said, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "We need to be leaving."

"So soon?" one of the twins – I made a mental note to start working on a way to tell them apart – questioned.

"You're usually the last one to leave, Kyoya-sempai," his brother said.

He shrugged, "I have a lot of work to do at my house."

"Oh, that's right," said Honey. "Kyo-chan's father is in China on business, right?"

Mori nodded, "Mhm."

"Well, that was kind of rude of him," the first twin said.

"Yeah," the second agreed. "Leaving before his guest even arrived."

"You guys," Haruhi hissed. "It's none of your business."

"What?" they said together. "We're just saying that it seems kind of rude, that's all!"

"I'll admit, it was a bit strange," said Kyoya. His voice sounded a bit more stern than normal, like he really was upset by their prying, but didn't want to show it. "The trip was very last minute. But I am more than capable of handling things on my own."

"And I really don't mind," I added. "I mean, he's a busy dude, I totally get that."

Kyoya snickered, "We'll see you on Monday; come along, Kia, or we'll be late for dinner."

_Come along Kia?_ I thought, wrinkling my nose. _What am I, a dog?_

"Goodbye Ki-chan!" Honey said, waving frantically.

"G'bye guys," I said. "It was nice meeting all of you."

"The pleasure was all ours," the twins assured me with a playful expression.

After goodbyes were finished, I followed Kyoya out to the car, which was waiting for us outside the front gate. Once again, I was able to call shotgun without a fight, and slid comfortably into the front seat, leaving Kyoya own his own in the back.

"I just don't understand what the fascination is," he said, when I asked him why he never fought me for it.

"Dude, it's… the front seat," I said, unable to come up with a better reason.

"Is that right?" he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's right," I said, turning around to stick my tongue out at him. Unfortunately, he had his head buried in his notebook, and didn't see me. "It's like, an honor or something. My friend Kyle decked a guy to get shotgun once."

He looked up at me, confused. "He… decked him? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that term."

I giggled, "Y'know, he punched him in the face. Poor sucker didn't stop bleeding for like an hour."

"I… see…" Kyoya said. Clearly, he didn't know what to think of my story. After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "Your friends seem like a very… lively bunch."

"Did you facebook creep them, too?" I asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," he said. "I wanted to learn as much about you as I could, so I could make your stay here enjoyable."

"Huh… Well, I like it so far," I assured him. "Your friends are pretty cool. Oh, thanks for letting me chill with you today."

"You're quite welcome," said Kyoya. "I'll be honest with you, as soon as Tamaki found out the exchange student my family was funding happened to be a girl, he insisted I bring you to the Host Club."

I smiled, "Really?"

He nodded, "He was quite insistent."

"Excuse me, Kia-san," the driver said. "But… well, if you wanted to talk to Ootori-san, you should sit in the back."

"Huh? Oh, right!" I said, suddenly realizing that I was giving the windshield a nice view of my rear. I felt my cheats heating up as I crawled back into my seat. I saw Kyoya trying to suppress his laughter in the rearview mirror. I stuck my tongue out at his reflection and dug out my headphones, and he went back to scribbling in his notebook.


End file.
